bean1 .. well. this shorty back in the UK. this week yet?? btw. just had collect three Mercedes G wagons for dealer in texas.this week in the UK . that had the BP missing deposit SCAM happen to him.. ebay.co.uk sure was NOT any help or pay pal.. later bc

It will be a while before I want to send it (she is only 11), and I was thinking of the Mexican idea, maybe even driving it to the port in Peru as a tourist, then out, etc. Obviously I still need to figure out a lot of things, but have a few years to do it. Maybe Trump can eliminate some of these stupid regulations too.

richard1.. the engines only have to bee 21 years and older to IMPORT . but has to be OEM to import in car or truck bit of CATCH 22 .. and all 336 ports of entry in the USA have their OWN rules. is you truck stillRHD ?? you can NOT change from RHD to LHD either.. I would ship to mexico and just DRIVE it over. you can call me at home. I have a custom broker in Neuvo laredo / mexico..Laredo Texas. that can help.. bc 001.704.487.6797

Reading through this bothers me a bit, as I planned on eventually sending my pickup to my granddaughter in the states. I thought the 25 year rule would cover me. Now I'm worried, as all parts are more than 25 years old, but it is a mix of the basic 1975 with later doors, 1992 power train. 7.5" power disc brakes up front. All original Mini from their time.

1963SV2.. the problem NOW with CBP ( US CUSTOMS) is that they just up and SEIZED every land rover that Dr Aaron Richardt had imported for the last TEN years..statute of limitations on cars is FIVE years.. 78 land rovers SEIZED total.. and thanks to Will Hendrick.. all have been RETURNED.. bad info from Jag/land rover north america on the tenth digit in the vin.s.. so NOW CBP has their panties all in twist on ALL imports like land rover defenders.. classic minis and nissian skylines. later bc

1963SV2,, CBP ( US CUSTOMS ) only allows OEM cars and trucks.. NO exemptions.. like shorty or after market cabrios into the USA.. I have seen land rovers SEIZED this year and CRUSHED for NOT having the OEM windsceen and OEM seatbelts.. later bc

Thanks for everything BC i will let you know if i need help getting my money back, i would think the car should be back to England in a week or so.BC is awesome and knows his stuff on importing cars and i would highly recommend him.

This was quite the story. Hats off to you BC for stepping up for beane1! Ron came to the right place looking for help. It would be a nightmare trying to sort something like this out on your own. I hope everything works out to everyones satisfaction in the end.Mini Estate

bean1.. when does the shorty arrive back in the UK..?? I do NOT recommend trying to send back as motor vehicle parts.. ( box 2a) on the DOT. as the mini has been RED FLAGGED by CBP there in LA.. If you have trouble getting your FULL refund of $5k.. from david ellsion / dba mountain minis.. I will make the call to DLVA for you to their enforcement section and sure my friend will put the FEAR of GOD into the prick Ellison.. later bc

bluedragon.. you are quite right.. btw.. this all started with Jag/ land rover north america giving FALSE info on the land rover defenders 90 and 110s.. stupic bastards did NOT tell CBP that vin number sequence is NOT the same on a euro speck truck.. and they reuse the 10 digit there. as a 1984 will show up as 2011 here on DMV date base.. all about GREED from land rover .. btw.. beane1 got your wire transfer / refund from the prick ellison yet?? later bc

Very few Classic Cars from the 60's, 70's, 80's are being manufactured anymore, indeed their overall numbers dwindle every year. Sure Heritage will sell you a new sedan shell for your old bits but not even a drop in the bucket.

What evil is the mere existence of old cars presenting?

My recollection is that these laws were really targeted for newer cars. Let's go back to the 80's. As you may recall, US cars had many different standards than foreign cars, and many enthusiasts preferred the home-market versions of these imported vehicles (primarily European.)

Taking the European cars as an example, they didn't have passive safety systems (aka airbag or motorized seat belts), 5 mph bumpers, various crash structures such as door beams, and probably most impactful, emissions control systems like the USA did (particularly when US standards really were tightened in 1980.)

So many people were hot to bring in the lighter, unsmogged Euro vehicles instead of their Federalized counterparts based on perceived superior performance (which in many, but not all, cases was true.)

These regs helped kill that loophole. The big manufacturers didn't have any problem with the law because they needed to protect their US distributorships from sales poaching.

I also agree true classics are no threat to the well being or safety of the US driver (nor the Canadian driver if Canada had similar laws at the time) but this is the mire that lawyers are born from. Someone would figure out a way to exploit the lack of these regulations for more widespread sales purposes, and so classic cars are swallowed up in the regulatory tide.

These days, it's not nearly as big a problem because Euro/Japanese and North American standards and regulations are much more closely aligned. (California and similar US states excepted.) But the laws remain.

I'm glad to hear that the shorty saga is coming to a decent if not great ending...